Aeromotor-boat.



S. S. & F. S. JBRWAN.

AEROMOTOR BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1911.

1,049,865. Patented Jan. 7, 1913.

s SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTORS ATTORNEYS S. S. & F. S. JERWAN.

AEROMOTOR BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1911.

1,049,865, Patented Jan. 7, 1913. a SHEETS-SHEET z.

' ATTORNEYS s. s. & P. s. JERWAN.

AEROMOTOR BOAT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.24, 1911.

1,049,865, Patented Jan. 7, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SHAKIR S. JERWAN AND FUAD S. JERWAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AEBOMOTOR-BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 7, 1913.

Application filed March 24, 1911. Serial No. 616,655.

' itself over the surface thereof, or be caused to rise from the surfaceof'the water and resume its flight, whenever the operator desires.

To this end it comprises a novel arrangement of parts for the purpose ofsupporting and balancing the structure of the 'areoplane when it restsupon the surface of the water and is propelled thereover, all of whichwill be fully pointed out in the specification and particularlyspecified in the claims appended thereto.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forminga part ofthis specification, in which the same characters of reference indicatethe same parts in all the 7 and controlling levers on the interiorthereof; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of motor boatattachment for an aeroplane.

Our improved aeroplane comprises a central framework 1, from the sidesof which, adjacent the front portion thereof, extends the framework ofthe lifting planes or wings 2. This framework, as shown on Fig. 1,comprises a suitable number of extended transverse rods connectedtogether by means of cross braces and diagonal stay wires, to make acompact structure. On top of this framework is placed the covering 3 ofthe wings, which may be of canvas or any other suitable cloth, and eachof the wings 3 has an opening 4 therein, the area of which is controlledby means of a sliding cover 5, moving upon guides 6. The cover is heldby a spring 7 in closed position, and

is moved by means of cords 8, operatedby levers which are controlled-from a point near the seat of the aviator, so that the' slides 5 can bepulled against the action of the "spring 7 to uncover more or less ofthe openings 4. This will'so regulate the effective area of the planes3, that the machine can be prevented from tilting when making itsflight, orcaused to resume a Horizontal position when it does tilt,simply by uncovering part or the whole of the opening 4- on that side ofthe plane which is higlfest. This will diminish the effective area ofthe higher wing and cause the same to sink, bringing the machine back toequilibrium.

This arrangement of openings is not claimed in this application, but isfully described and claimed in our co-pending application Serial Number614,518, filed March 15,1911.

The main frame 1 of the aeroplane has tail planes 3' extendingrearwardly from the wings 3, and terminating in horizontal rudders 8',which flank the vertical rudder 9, mounted to swing at the rear end ofthe main frame 1. Brace wires 10 are connected to the ends of theframework 2 of the main Wings, and the rear of the framework 1, tostrengthen the framework of the entire apparatus and make a rigidstructure. Stay wires 11 are also arranged on top of the machine, thesestay wires being joined at their outer ends to suitable points of thewing framework 2, and at their inner ends to a central ridge bar 12,carried above the main framework 1.

Fastened to the forward part of the main frame 1 at each side thereofand extending down below the bottom of this framework are a number ofvertical ribs 13, which form the framework of a boat-shaped car 14. Thiscar is made up of a number of plates of light metal, such as aluminum,or any other suitable substance, which are fastened to the ribs 13 toform a partly closed cabin. In

the front of the boat-shaped car are windows 15, one on either side ofthe center; and beneath the floor of the car is an air chamber 16, toincrease the buoyancy of our aero-motor boat. I

Resting upon suitable supports mounted upon the floor of the boat-shapedcar 14 is the engine 17, having a crank-shaft 18, which is connected bymeans of suitable shafting to a propeller 19 at the stern of the car,this propeller serving to drive the aeromotorboat through the water whenthe entire machine is resting upon the surface. A suitable clutch isprovided to couple up or uncouple the propeller 19 from the shaft 18,this clutch being controlled by a lever 18, from the operators seat.

On the front end of the crank shaft 18 is an idle pulley 20 and a fixedpulley 21. A

belt passes over the pulley 21 to a similar pulley in the top of the car14, to transmit rotation to the spindle of the aeroplane propeller 23.

24 is the operators seat; and a shifter bar 25 extends to within reachof the operator, so that the belt 22 can be shifted from the workingpulley 21 to the idle pulley 20, whenever the aero-motor boat is movedover the water, and the propeller 23 is not re-- quired to be in use.The operators seat 24 is arranged at the rear of the car 14, and anynumber of levers 24 may be arranged beside it to control the rudders atthe rear of the car, or the slides 5, as may be necessary. At the rearthereof, just above the propeller 19 is a funnel 27. Just above the seat24 is an opening 29, to allow the operator to raise his head above theroof of the car and obtain a view of the surroundings, whenever he sodesires.

On the front of the car is a pair of inclined supports 30, fastenedtogether at the top adjacent the shaft of the propeller 23,

and connected at their lower ends to a pair of outwardlyextending arms31. These arms or braces 31 carry in their outer ends,

adjacent their point of connection with the diagonal members 30, a pairof downturned yokes 32, these yokes serving as supports for a pair ofwheels 33, which support the machine when it rests upon the ground. A

similar wheel 33 is arranged under the rear part of the main frame 1.The shanks of the yokes slide through openings in the adjacent ends ofthe parts 30 and 31 being held in place in any suitable way; and springs31 are placed between the yokes 32 and the arms 30 to cushion the wheels33. Similar cushioning means are employed in connect-ion with the wheel33.

Supported between the wheels 33 and adj acent the bottom of theboat-shaped car are air tanks 34, one on each side of the center of thecar 14; and a pair of air tanks 35 is supported by the wing frames 2,beneath the openings 4. These air tanks depend from vertical rods 36,connected to the lower side of the wing frames 2, and suitable stay rods37, joined to the bottom of the wing frames 2 and the lower end of therods 36, hold the tanks 35 in proper relation to the wing frames 3, andprevent them from swinging when the aeroplane is in flight. A similarair tank 35 is carried by the rear end or tail portion of the main frame1, to buoy up the tail of the aero-motor boat when the latter istraveling on the water. The tanks 34 are supported by vertical members34, slidably secured to the arms 31. Cushion springs are coiled aroundthe members 34" between the arms 31 and the tanks 34. Rods 36 areslidably secured in bearing blocks supported by the stay rods 37, andsprings 36 are placed on the rods 36 to cushion the three tanks Suchhearing blocks are fully shown at 35, at the right on Fig. 3. The rods36 are so connected to the springs 36 that the latter are compressedupward when the tanks are forced upward, and it will be seen that thesprings for the tanks 34 and 35, and the wheels 33 and 33, will minimizethe liability of damage due to shocks when the aero-motor boat istraveling on land or over the surface of the water.

It will be understood that the tanks are rigidly secured to the rods 36.The tanks 35 may be prevented from swinging around the rods in thebearings 35' either by means of a key and groove or by anchoring theends of the tanks 35 with stay rods to the wing and tail frames.Likewise, the rods 36 beneath the wing frames do not have to be arrangeddirectly below the openings 4, but may be placed on either side thereofif desired.

The car 14 is held rigid with respect to the wing frames 2, andprevented from swinging beneath the same by means of stays 30, thesestays being joined to the outer ends of the arms 31 and diagonalsupports 30 at their lower ends, and to the lower side of the wingframes 2 at their upper ends.

A gasolene tank 41, which supplies fuel for the motor 17, is suspendedbeneath the roof of the boat-shaped car, as shown on Fig. 4, and theexhaust pipe 42 of the en gine passesout through the bottom of the car.

Fig. 5 shows a modification of motor boat attachment for our aeroplane,consisting of an ordinary motor boat having a hull 14 of light butstrong construction. The bow of this boat is covered over as shown atand for this purpose a spray hood made of canvas, similar to hoodscommonly used for such purposes on motor boats, may be employed. Thehull of the boat 14 is supported by means of hangers 40, connected tothe sides of the frame 1 at their upper ends and to the bow and stern ofthe boat at their lower ends. The engine. shown at 17 on Fig. 4. will bearranged beneath the hood, and this engine will rotate the propeller 19when the boat rests upon the water and can also be thrown in to transmitpower to the propeller 23 when the machine is flying. In other words,the same power apparatus with all the appliances forming a part thereof,as shown on Fig. 4, will be used in connection with the motor boatattachment 14, the power plant being located beneath the hood 38. Therewill be wheels 33 and air tanks 34 flanking the boat 14, but the air"chamber 16 beneath the bottom or floor of the boat, as shown on Fig. 4,will be dispensed with. The members 30 and 31 are employed in connectionwith the. boat 14', the members 31 extending outward from the sidethereof and being connected at their outer ends to the members 30, whichare fixed to the bow of the boat 14. Braces 42 are joined to the outerends of the members 30 and 31, and at their upper ends to the frameworkof the hood 38.

When the aero-motor boat is flying, the propeller 19 of course will beuncoupled and the driving power will be supplied through the propeller23. When it is desired to alight on the surface of a body of water, themachine glides down until it reaches the water, and is caused to floatupon the surface thereof by means of the air tanks 34 and 35, and theair chambers 16 in the bottom of the boat-shaped car 14. The air tanks35 carried by the wing frames 2 and the tail frame will buoy up the mainframe of the aeroplane and cause it to rest at all times upon even keel.In other words, on-

account of the air tanks 35, the structure will never rock about itslongitudinal axis to such an extent as to submerge the tips ofthe wings3, or about a transverse axis to such an 'extent'as to cause the tail 1to dip into the water, While the air tanks 34 and the air chamber 16 inthe bottom of the boatwill support the car 14 high enough out of thewater to give the operator ample chance to see where he is going,through the openings 15 in the front of the boat. The

propeller 19 in this case can be used to propel the machine, but, ifdesired, the propeller 23 may be thrown into operation also. To risefrom the surface of the water, the operator merely adjusts the angles,of the main planes 3 to the required extent, and increases the power ofthe engine until the driving efi'ortbecomes great enough to lift theaeroplane and cause it to resume its flight. Our improved aeromotor boatcan be thus made-to rise into the air from either the land or water, thewheels 33 and 33 serving in the former case, and the air tanks 34 and 35in the latter.

When the machine is flying, the windows 15 in the front and the openings27 in the back will allow the air to flow freely through-the interior ofthe car 14 and reduce the resistance due to the air pressure, as themachine moves forward.

We have shown and described our invention as comprising a motor boatattachment for a monoplane, but it is obvious that we may construct thesame in the form of a biplane motor boat if desired.

We wish to reserve to ourselves the right to make certain small changesin the size, shape and arrangement of the parts, as fairly fall withinthe scope and nature of our invention.' For example, inFig. 5 we omitthe air chamber shown at 16 on Fig. 4. Under certain conditions we mightalso omit the'air tanks 34, using simply the air tanks 35 beneath thewings and the tail, to float-the aeroplane when it rests upon thesurface of the water. The marine propeller 19 could be dispensed with,and the car 14 so formed that it would be suspended above the water. Inthis case the air propeller 23 would do all the work and cause themachine to glide along the water on the tanks 35.

'Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure' by Letters Patent: a

1. The combination of an aeroplane having wing frames and a tail frame,and

means supported by said wing frames and the tail frame to float upon thesurface of a body of water and buoy up the aeroplane.

2. The combination of an aeroplane having wing frames and a tail frame,a boatshaped car suspended beneath the aeroplane between the wings andadjacent the front end of the aeroplane, said boat-shaped carv beingadapted to rest upon the surface of the water, and means carried by thewing frames and the tail frame of the aeroplane to rest upon the surfaceof the water in conjunction with the boat-shaped car, to prevent thewing frames or the tail frame from being dipped into the water when thecar is moved over the surface thereof.

' 3. The combination of an aeroplane having a boat-shaped car supportedcentrally of the wings and beneath the same, an aeropropeller mounted onthe front of said car near the top thereof, a marine propeller mountedon the rear of the car near the bottom thereof, a motor carried by saidcar, a clutch for connecting and disconnecting the power shaft of themotor to the marine propeller, fixed and idle pulleys upon the crankshaft of said motor, a belt connecting said motor to the shaft of theaero-propeller, and means for shifting said belt upon the fixed or theidle pulley, as desired.

4. The combination of an aeroplane having a boat-shaped car supportedbeneath the framework thereof, an air chamber in the bottom of said car,means for increasing the buoyancy of the said chamber, arranged beneaththe car and on each side of the same, and means carried by the wings andtail of saidaeroplane to rest upon the surface of a body of water, andbuoy up the framework I into the water.

5. The combination of an aeroplane and a boat-shaped car supportedbeneath the framework thereof, said car having an air chamber in thebottom thereof, a pair of air tanks connected to the said car beneaththe bottom thereof, on either side of the same, and air tanks supportedbeneath the wing frames and the tail frame to rest upon the surface of abody of water and prevent the wing frames and the tail frame fromdipping into the water.

6. The combination of an aeroplane having Wing frames and a tail frame,means suspended beneath the wing frames and the tail frame, adapted torest upon the surface of a body of water to buoy up said wing frames andtail frame, and means comprising stay wires connected at one end to thesaid firstnamed means and to the wing frames and the tail frame at theirother ends, to maintain said first-named means in proper relation tosaid wing frames and tail frame.

7. The combination of an aeroplane having wing frames and a tail frame,and means supported yieldably by said wing frames and the tail frame tofloat upon the surface of a body of water and buoy up the aeroplane.

8. The combination of an aeroplane and a boat-shaped car supportedbeneath the framework thereof, said car having an air chamber in thebottom thereof, a pair of air tanks yieldably connected to the said carbeneath the bottom thereof, on either side of the same, and air tanksyieldably supported beneath the wing frames and the tail frame to restupon the surface of a body of water and prevent the wing frames and thetail frame from dipping into the water.

9. The combination of an aeroplane having wing frames and a tail frame,buoyant tanks supported beneath the wing frames and the tail frame tofloat upon the surface of a body of water and buoy up the aeroplane,rods secured to said tanks, bearings through which said rods pass, saidbearings being rigidly supported below the lower surface of the frames,and springs on said rods between the tanks and the lower sur face of theframes, said springs being adapted to be compressed when the tanks aremoved upward.

10; The combination of an aeroplane having wing frames and a tail frame,and air-- tanks resiliently connected to the opposite ends of said wingframes and the rear end of the tail frame to enable the aeroplane tofloat upon the surface of a body of water.

11. The combination of an aeroplane having wing frames and a tail frame,air'tanks resiliently connected to the opposite ends of said wing framesand the-rear end of the tail frame to enable the aeroplane to float uponthe surface of a body of water, and means for holding said air tanksagainst ro-. tation with respect to the aeroplane.

12. In an aeroplane, a boat-shaped car, a pair of tanks located adjacentthe bottom of said boat-shaped car on both sides of the center, a pairof arms projecting laterally from the outer front face of said car, apair of yokes mounted in said arms and resil1- ently connected thereto,wheels carried by said yokes, vertical members connecting said tanks tothe car, and springs coiledaround said vertical members to cushion saidtanks.

13. In an aeroplane, a boat-shaped car having an air chamber in itsbottom, a pa r of tanks located adjacent the bottom of said boat-shapedcar on both sides of the center,

a pair of arms projecting laterally from the outer front face of saidcar, a pair of yokes mounted in the said arms and resiliently connectedthereto, wheels carried by said yokes, vertical members connecting saidtanks to the car,.and springs coiled around said vertical members tocushion said tanks. In testimony whereof we have signed our names tothis specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SHAKIR s. JERWAN. FUAD s. JERWAN.

Witnesses:

A. A. CLARKE, WM. KIRKPATRICK.

